Look After You
by carlypotter
Summary: Sequel to It's Time to Run. Beth and Daryl are on their own now, and growing closer every day. But what happens when Beth is kidnapped in the middle of the night? COMPLETE.
1. Midnight Disappearance

_A/N Hey guys, I'm back! I've finally got inspiration for an It's Time To Run sequel, after seeing the season 5 trailer. I hope you all enjoy this one as you did It's Time to Run. These chapters might be a little short so I'm sorry, but I'll try my best to make them longer._

**Beth POV**

She awoke to the sound of creaking. It automatically made her jump; any unexpected or eerie sound did that to her these days. _God, I'm such a wuss, _she thought, rolling over once again.

Her fingers stretched out on the mattress and she breathed a sigh of relief when she felt Daryl's warmth reach them. The two shared the only bed in the little cabin they had stumbled upon, which Beth secretly loved. She loved being close to him, feeling his warmth. It gave her comfort and a feeling of safety.

The creaking resumed for a couple moments, which made Beth sigh in irritation. There was no way she was going to get back to sleep now. For some reason she couldn't explain it put her on edge. She tried taking deep breaths to calm down like she did back at the farm; they seemed to help back then.

They weren't helping now, though. Not tonight.

She kept trying for a few minutes, with no success. She could feel herself hyperventilating, on the edge of a panic attack. _No, no, no, _she told herself. _I'm stronger than this. I won't have another panic attack. Not again. _

"Daryl," she whispered, shaking his shoulder gently. "I'm going to go outside for a minute to catch some air. I'll take a knife with me."

He grunted his acknowledgement and rolled back over, still tired. Normally he'd be awake and would have gone with her.

She grabbed her knife from the table and walked outside onto the small patio. The cool air felt good on her now sweating face. "This should do the trick," she murmured to herself. It was making her feel better already.

Out of nowhere, something struck Beth from behind, making her drop her knife. It went flying across the patio, out of her reach. She fell, hard, and spun around to face her attacker. She tried to scramble backwards but someone was already there and kicked her shoulder hard, making her cry out in pain. One of the assailants picked Beth up despite all her struggling; they were far too strong for her.

_Help..._she tried to scream, but her mouth made no sound. The other person had clamped his hand over her mouth. She kept fighting them until the strong scent of chloroform made her pass out, slumping helplessly into her captors arms.

She woke up several hours later in the trunk of a car, alone and utterly terrified.


	2. Gone

**Daryl POV**

He woke up slowly, squinting from the early morning sun light shining on his face. He grunted, muttered something unintelligible to himself, and rolled back over. Needless to say, Daryl Dixon was _not _a morning person.

He expected Beth to be up already, trying to scrounge up some food for breakfast, but he couldn't find the pretty blonde anywhere in the small cabin. He checked all around outdoors, searching the quiet woods around their cabin. Beth was nowhere to be seen.

"Beth?" he called quietly, circling around the cabin once more. Maybe he had missed seeing her and she was right around the corner. _Oh, who am I kidding? I never miss anything, _he grumbled to himself. He wouldn't be half the hunter he was if he missed stuff.

That's when he saw her knife lying on the far side of the porch. "Hmm," he grunted, thinking that was odd. Then, he remembered waking up last night to her saying she needed to go outside for a minute, and that she'd take a knife with her.

_Damn it, Dixon, you should've went with her. _He mentally cursed himself. He'd let her go out in the middle of the night by herself, and now she was gone. And it was all his fault.

Without a second thought, Daryl made preparations to leave the cabin. He gathered all the supplies he'd need. He picked up her gun—still lying on the nightstand by the bed they had shared just a few short hours ago—and holstered it on his side. He took all the stuff she'd had—just a pair of clothes and a few spare clips of ammo—and put it in his bag too. She'd need it when he found her.

"Alright, let's see where you're goin' to, Greene," he said to no one in particular. He picked up her knife and went down the steps leading away from the cabin. He noted a few scuff marks a couple feet to the left—two sets of boots it looked like. He followed the marks until they reached a road a couple kilometers ahead.

Immediately, he came to one conclusion: walkers weren't at fault here. Beth could have taken them down easily with her knife, and would have called Daryl for help. Whoever had caused Beth to disappear, had subdued her and taken her. No way would his Beth Greene go down without a fight.

He noticed tire marks—someone had gotten out of there in a hurry—heading down the road. _Well it ain't much, but hell, it's better than nothing. _He went in the direction of the marks, following them until he came to another dirt road. There weren't any tracks leading down, but he decided to follow the road in case they had covered the marks up. As he'd suspected, the road turned up nothing.

He got back on the main road, following the tracks and thinking about Beth. How beautiful she was. How she never cared about what anyone else thought. Her desire to learn to survive, be independent. Her will to fight. He'd never met a more incredible woman. What drew him to her most was her ability to hope, and to carry on after everything that had happened to her. She was strong. And she grew on him quickly.

He willed himself to find her, because in truth, Daryl needed her. He needed the light she brought wherever she went, he needed her to teach him to be a better person.

_I'm going to find you, Beth_ he promised as he kept walking down the road, the sun beating at his back.


	3. Weak

_A/N Here's the third chapter. Enjoy! Favorites/follows/reviews are appreciated!_

**Beth POV**

She woke up with a throbbing headache. _Where am I? _she wondered, wincing as she sat up.

Before she had any time to take in her surroundings, the door to her—cell? Room? she didn't know—opened, and a woman in a cop's uniform stood before her. "Good. You're awake." The woman proceeded to grab Beth's arm and drag her down the hallway.

Beth was in a hospital, she discovered. The room she had woken up in was a former hospital room. "Hey!" she protested, struggling against the woman. "Let me go!" The woman dug her nails into Beth's arm and kept dragging her along.

"The more you struggle, the more it's going to hurt," the woman said in a sharp voice. They had entered another room—some sort of medical room—where two large men in white lab coats were waiting. "Strap her down."

The two men stepped forward and took Beth from the woman. They laid her down on a gurney and managed to get straps over the girls flailing limbs. "What the hell do you want from me?" Beth had begun swearing recently, a habit she had picked up from Daryl.

_Daryl. _What had happened to him? Had he been taken too? Oh, who was she kidding? This was Daryl she was talking about. Of course he didn't get caught. He'd be too fast, too strong. Unlike Beth.

Mentally she kicked herself. How could she have been so stupid? She let her guard down, for just a minute, and looked what happened. Now she was surrounded by strangers—who didn't seem like the helping type—in some abandoned hospital. She should have been stronger, more prepared. She should have fought her kidnappers off. But she couldn't.

She was too weak. She'd always known that she wasn't a fighter, and right now nothing disgusted her more than that thought. Daryl would've fought back, and won. He wouldn't have let himself get disarmed and taken like some defenceless little girl.

Her mind slid away from Daryl and back to reality as she felt the sharp sting of a needle pierce her skin. She cringed but stayed silent. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Just taking some blood, for now." The woman said, in the same stone cold voice. She looked away as the men took three vials of blood.

She tried to work the needle out of her vein, but it didn't work. _Daryl, please come, _she silently pleaded. _I need you. _Beth knew Daryl was her only hope. Where was he now?

She felt several more stabs as she was injected with different colored fluids. One of the lab workers walked her back to the cell after she was unstrapped. Standing up made her dizzy, and she had an even worse headache now.

"We'll do some more testing later. Congratulations, Beth. You're our new test bunny."

She felt another needle at the side of her neck, and everything went black once again as she crumpled to the floor.


	4. Days Are Numbered

A/N: Hey guys, i know it's been a while. I got a new laptop for Christmas and have been transitioning all my stuff over to it, so it's taking a while. I'm also in the midst of finishing high school and working on university stuff, which takes up a fair bit of time. But try to bear with me! I'll try to update as often as I can now. Sorry again for the lack of updates! I'll try and make it up to my loyal readers, you guys are the best. 3

**Daryl POV**

Daryl was alone.

He was lost. Beth was gone - and he was beginning to think there was no way to find her. He thought there was even less of a chance of finding the rest of the prison group. He didn't have a clue in hell where they could be.

It was the first time Daryl had been alone - truly alone - since the outbreak. Sure, he went off hunting by himself at Dale's old camp out in Atlanta and kept to himself mostly everywhere else the group ended up - but there were always people around. Always some sort of noise. But now? It was just Daryl and the silence.

"What have you got yourself into this time Greene," he muttered for about the thousandth time. The need to get to the bottom of this was slowly driving Daryl crazy. Where could they - whoever _they _were - have taken Beth? He needed to find out.

Not wanting to stray far from the main road, Daryl kept on following the direction in which he thought the kidnappers had taken Beth. It was hard to say if they had gone this way or in a complete opposite direction. Daryl couldn't find anything that would give them away.

Around noon, he decided to take a break. He had been walking all night, and now the hot sun was beating down on him. He found a small little village - or the outskirts of an old town, he couldn't tell - just a few miles on and he decided to break into one of the houses. After turning up nothing in the way of supplies, food or water, he laid down on the old dusty couch and began to close his eyes. Daryl soon drifted off to sleep.

He woke up, hours later, to a shotgun being pointed at his face.

**Beth POV**

Beth was furious. The various freaks, as she liked to now call them, kept poking her and prodding her. Why was she so important? She was just a plain girl. She didn't know what these people wanted with her.

"Get up." The female police officer - if you could call her that - told Beth, shoving her off the bed she was resting on. "You have chores to do."

After being dragged down the hall, Beth was presented with an array of cleaning supplies. She was instructed to clean the whole floor, top to bottom. She tried to resist, but was hit by the police officer until she began her 'chores'.

"She's clearly too strong," she heard someone say as she was about to round the corner to another hallway. She paused, listening. "We'll be better off doing this."

"We can't just trade her - she's one of the stronger subjects!" another voice - Beth identified as the female police officer - hissed in protest. She poked her head around the corner and saw the woman talking to a taller male, also dressed in a police uniform.

"Think about it. We'll be better off with a bunch of supplies - the kid's probably worth a ton - than an insolent teenage subject who puts up a fight every time we try to run the tests." This piqued Beth's curiosity - were they planning to trade a patient to someone for supplies?

"It's because she doesn't understand! Beth's new. She doesn't understand that we're trying to create a cure here. I'm not giving her to that crew. She's ours." Wait - her? They were going to trade _her? _To who? And for what supplies? But most importanrtly, why were they trading another _human being?_

Beth heard a short scuffle. "Listen." The male was speaking again, more angry this time. Beth looked around the corner once again, and saw that the male now had the female pinned against the wall in a threatening stance. "The rest of us think it's best. Call the Bandits, and make the trade. We want her gone in two days."

_A/N _Alright so i tried to give you guys a few cliffhangers, i hope you enjoyed them! I felt bad for leaving this story for so long, so i did some from Beth and Daryl's perspective, instead of just the one. I'll try to update within the next two weeks! Let me know what you guys think, feedback is always appreciated :)


	5. Damn Interview

_A/N Alright guys, here's my second update for the week. This is going to be a lot of dialogue to get the action moving along, so bear with me!_

**Daryl POV**

"Get up. Hands on your head. Over to that wall. Do it now." The gruff old man holding the shotgun to Daryl's head said. Daryl did what he was told. No sense in getting shot. Beth was counting on him.

"Didn't realize this place was taken," Daryl said. "I didn't take nothin'. Check your cupboards, everythin's there. I'll be on my way, if you'll let me go." He needed to talk fast and get out of there even faster.

"We'll consider that," the old man replied, "but you've got some questions to answer first, son. Have a seat." He gestured to a wooden table in the far corner of the room. Daryl obeyed, and the man followed. The other three people - a middle-aged woman, a young boy and a girl who looked to be in her early teens - stayed near the door. It wasn't hard to tell that the old man was in charge.

"What's your name?"

"Daryl."

"Nice to meet you, Daryl. I'm Earl." So the old man had a name.

"Pleasure," Daryl snorted.

"What brings you out this way, Daryl?"

"'M lookin' for someone."

"A friend of yours? Family, maybe?"

"Friend."

"And how exactly did you manage to lose your friend, Daryl?"

"We got split up from the rest of our group, after our camp was attacked. It was just me an' her. We were campin' out in a new place a few towns back. She got up in the middle of the night and when i woke up in the mornin' she was gone. I tracked the car they took her in this way . Ain't got nothin' for miles."

"How do you know it was a car?"

"Tire marks speedin' out the driveway. Folks were in a rush to get out a there."

"So, you got this far and stumbled upon this place. Why'd you stop?"

"Tired, needed somewhere to hole up for a bit."

"You didn't think to check if it was inhabited?"

"Didn't think there'd be anyone to check for," Daryl muttered.

"Alright-" Earl began to ask another question.

"What is this, a damn interview? I've answered all your questions, now i'm goin'" Daryl began to get up.

"Earl-" the middle aged woman began.

"Not now, Emily," Earl said to her. Daryl had begun collecting his stuff and moved to the door.

"Wait!" The younger girl called out.

"You got somethin' to tell me?" Daryl asked the women, who were standing by the door now.

"Yes," Emily began, and took a breath. "The people who took your friend - i think i know who they are."

"Why is that?"

"Because they took our oldest grandchild, Anna, too."

"Nonsense! That insolent child ran away and you know it!" Earl protested.

"No, Earl. It's time to face the truth." Emily turned to Daryl and gestured to the couch. "You may want to sit down. It's going to be a long story."

And so she began telling Daryl about the family at the beginning of the apocalypse. Emily and Earl lived in Atlanta, close to their children and grandchildren (Anna, and the two other kids , Josie and Max.) Shortly after the outbreak, their parents were killed. The kids were saved by Earl, who rescued them from the basement of their overrun house.

Not long after, they found shelter with a large group of other survivors. There were ugly rumors sprouting up everywhere - supposedly a former Atlanta gang was still going strong, and had begun to take young girls and women to trade for supplies. Just like the sex trade market of the pre-apocalyptic days. They would also give out supplies in exchange for more girls. The rumors had not been proven - or disproven - by the time the family left the city.

Anna had dissapeared a few days before the city became overrun and the family took off. She had refused to believe that her parents were dead, and Emily and Earl had thought she'd run back into the city to look for them. After reports of similar dissappearances, Emily began to doubt that her granddaughter left them willingly.

"And now i can see that this gang is still at it," Emily said. "We'll help you get your friend back. It's what Anna would have wanted."

They began making plans to get back to the city. It would take three days to get there, and when they did they needed to find out where Beth had been taken. And then the rescue could begin.

_A/N Quick note: If i get a good response to this part of the story, i'll post another chapter tonight. Happy reading :) _


	6. Trade

_A/N: Okay guys, i've made a few decisions for the remainder of the story and i'm going to warn you now that it's going to take a darker turn. I won't explicitly detail anything graphic but graphic scenes __**will be implied. **__There will be a warning at the beginning of every chapter if there are hints of graphic scenes, so any of my readers uncomfortable with said topics won't be subjected to reading them. Thank you guys for your continued support :)_

**Beth POV**

One day.

Beth had one day left at the abandoned hospital until she was traded to the Bandits.

No one was around to answer her questions, of course. She hadn't seen any of the other 'patients' that were kept locked up in their rooms, and the police officers and the ones who ran the tests on her barely spoke a word to her.

She was scared. Who were the Bandits? And what were they going to do with her? She wanted Daryl to resuce her. She needed him to come in and save the day again, just like he had when the prison fell and the two made their escape together.

But he wasn't coming.

The crazy people kept running tests on Beth during the last day. Of course they didn't want to give up their 'test bunny' - as they were so fond of calling her - without getting as much as they could from her. She still didn't understand the tests; she saw no actual point in them. The only thing she could think of is that they were trying to come up with a cure.

"Light's out, Beth," said the police officer with a menacing tone in her voice. "You've got a long day ahead of you tomorrow."

She was roughly shaken awake in the morning. A pair of clothes was tossed at her and whoever had come in quickly shut the door. "Five minutes," they told her. She realized it was the male officer who she'd seen arguing with the female, who she learned was named Dawn.

She realized the pair of clothes she'd been given were the ones she'd been wearing on the night she'd been taken. A pair of faded blue jeans, and the yellow shirt she'd taken from the golf course with Daryl.

Would he ever find her? Hell, she didn't even know where she was. She'd barely been able to look outside since she'd been taken. She just prayed he wouldn't be too late. A sharp knock on the door told her that the five minutes were up. It was time to leave.

If Beth was scared before, she was terrified now.

Three men came to 'trade' for her. They all fit the menacing, no-good stereotype her father had always warned her about back on the farm.

At one time, she would have categorized Daryl in with them, too. But through his gruff exterior, he opened up. He made Beth feel safe, and protected. He made her feel brave. Once you wore down the tough outer shell, Daryl was truly a great person. Unfortunately, Beth didn't get the impression these men - if you could call them that - would have the same soft spot inside.

The trade only took a minute. The men roughly took her and shoved her into a car, where she was blindfolded. They drove around for a few minutes - mostly to disorient her, Beth guessed - before they stopped inside an old parking garage. They grabbed her arm as she got out of the car.

"You're now known as 89. Forget your old name, it doesn't matter now. You hear your number, you respond. Don't talk to anyone, don't do anything you're not told to. Got it?" Beth didn't dignify the thug with a response.

She kept from crying out as she was struck in the jaw. "I asked, do you got it?" the same thug demanded.

Rubbing her jaw, Beth nodded. "Good. Welcome to the hood, 89."


	7. Last Stretch

_A/N So, the graphic scenes i warned you about last chapter probably won't be as bad as i originally antipated, because i don't want to lose any of my audience. i hope you guys enjoy this chapter :)_

**Daryl's POV**

They were so close to Atlanta. Another days journey, at the most. He didn't know what they would find there, and he didn't care. Beth was there, and he'd go to hell and back if it meant he could save her.

He was hit with a sudden longing to be near the pretty blonde. There was no way to describe how she made him feel. She cast a shining light on the shadows he was surrounded by - shadows of his past, both pre and post apocalyptic. It was almost like she was protecting him, by getting him to talk about them. "If you talk about what's hurting you, you take away it's power to continue doing so," she'd told him one day after he'd told her some of his past.

He needed Beth as much as she needed him. _Just hang on, Greene. I'm coming._

"Now when we get into the city, i don't know what we'll find," Earl said before they left early that morning. "We know Atlanta was overrun. What we don't know is how bad, or which areas were hit worst. Some we'll be able to rule out immediately, but others might take scouting through."

"Whatever it takes," Daryl muttered back.

"When we do find out where she is, we'll need to come up with a plan to rescue her - and Anna, if we're lucky," Emily added.

"I got a plan," Daryl told her. "Go in. Shoot anyone who tries to get in my way. Get Beth. Get out. Leave this damn place behind."

"We can't just go rushing in," Earl protested. "We can assume these men are well armed and supplied, and won't let one of their 'treasures' go without a fight."

"Alright," Daryl said. And with that the three adults, joined by Josie and Max, began the final stretch to Atlanta.

After they had walked for a few more hours, the group began to see the outskirts of the city. It was eerily silent - Daryl didn't hear any noise what so ever. At least no walkers were around - yet - to fuck up their plan.

"So, it's time to get down to specifics. How we goin' to do this?" Earl asked. "Daryl, she's your girl. It's your call."

Daryl got stuck on the words _your girl. _Was Beth really his? The two had grown close back at the prison, but had never really discussed their relationship. Maybe they would have if the prison hadn't been attacked, if Hershel hadn't been killed at the hands of the Governor...

Thinking of Hershel - Beth's dad - brought on a whole new bout of guilt for Daryl. Though he had not necessarily approved of the connection, Hershel trusted Daryl to take care of his baby girl. Just like he trusted Glen to care for Maggie - Beth's older sister.

_I've failed them both_, Daryl thought. He'd let Hershel down by letting Beth get taken, and failed Beth by not protecting her. _No, that's not true, _he told himself. _I'm going to save that girl if it's the last thing i do. I'm not going to let her down again._

"I thought of somethin' on the way here," Daryl replied. "Everyone listen up."


	8. Rescued

**Beth POV **

It had been only two days since Beth had joined the Bandits, and she was miserable. She'd been brought to a large warehouse, where she was kept with around 50 or so other girls.

The Bandits were awful to them. They starved and beat the girls. They made them scrub the floors and walls with toothbrushes - Beth was doing that right now. She had been assigned to floor duty with another young girl who was around her age. From what she could gather, the girl's number was 52.

"What's your name?" Beth whispered to the girl, continuing to work.

The girl looked terrified. "Anna," she whispered back. "But please, be quiet. We don't want them to hear us." The girls weren't supposed to talk to each other.

"I'm Beth," she told Anna. "Don't worry. I know someone who's going to get us out of here. He's going to come real soon." _I hope_, she thought silently to herself.

**Daryl POV**

They were finally in the city, and had scouted out a few areas where Beth could easily have been taken to. They included a hospital, a large run-down supermarket and a large brick building on the outskirts of the city. Daryl was skeptical about the last one.

They tried the hopsital first. A woman and man, both dressed in police uniforms, met them. The two children, Josie and Max, had snuck around to the back of the hospital with Emily to see if they could find anything. Daryl and Earl were approaching the hospital in an attempt to gather information.

"Hello," the woman said. "May we help you?"

"Yes," Earl began. "My name is Earl, this is Daryl. A few days ago Daryl's friend - she goes by the name of Beth - went missing. We think she might have ended up around this area, and we're very scared for her." He gave the people a description of Beth and asked if they had any information.

Daryl could tell by the looks on their faces that they knew exactly who Beth was. Before he could ask where she was, however, the male spoke up. "Sorry, we don't know anything about her. We'll keep an eye out." He turned on his heel to leave.

The female police officer made sure he was on his way inside before speaking in a hushed voice. "Beth was taken here. However, a few of my associates-" she grimaced and glanced back at the retreating officer- "thought it best to trade her off to supplies. You'll find her in a warehouse a couple blocks east of here. That's all i can say." Then she too turned, and headed back in to the hospital.

The two then went to go find Emily and the kids, and relay the information to them. Daryl figured they would deal with the people in the hospital later. They were well on their way to getting Beth now.

**Beth**

She laid down on the very uncomfortable cot at lights out. Not wanting to cry, Beth took a deap breath and let out a sigh instead. Where was Daryl?

Her question was answered when a bright flash, followed by a small boom sounded near the warehouse entrance. Many of the girls cried out in fear and Beth could hear the Bandits crying out in alarm.

She made out a few figures-two males, it looked like-making their way in the warehouse from the hole they'd blown in the entrance. "Daryl!" she cried out, recognizing the redneck thanks to the crossbow slung across his back. Looking around, she called out for Anna. She eventually found the frightened girl still sitting on her cot.

"Anna! Come on, he's here! I told you he'd come!" She grabbed the girl by the arm and pulled her towards the entrance.

Beth ran and crashed into Daryl. "You're here - i knew you'd come!" she sighed happily into her chest. "C'mon, we gotta get out of here."

"Papa!" Anna yelled, hugging the other unfamilliar male.

"That's Earl. And i assume that's his granddaughter," Daryl told Beth. "I'll explain later. We gotta go." The group of four escaped the warehouse in the wake of the confusion the explosion had caused.

_A/N : I know this is a really short chapter but i hope you guys enjoyed! I've been spending a lot of time working and doing (more) university stuff so again i apologize for my delay. Thank you to all my loyal readers!_


	9. Safe

_A/N Hey guys i'm back! Sorry for the huge delay (again!) The last few months have been crazy as I had to finish up university stuff, my final exams and graduating high school! As long as I don't work too much I plan to finish up this sequel by the end of the summer. Thank you to all my loyal readers for sticking with me (and Beth, and Daryl) throughout It's Time to Run and Look After You. Y'all are the best!_

**Daryl POV**

Once his new group returned to Earl and Emily's camp, he thought they'd be safe. In the physical sense they were.

But Beth wasn't safe from all the nightmares that the past weeks would bring her. One night, Daryl woke up to the sound of her lightly crying. Not wanting to wake the others sleeping in the room, he quietly padded over to her. "Hey," he whispered, hugging her tight. "What's goin' on?"

"I-I can't sleep," Beth hiccupped, wiping away a tear from her cheek. "I keep having nightmares..."

"You wanna talk about 'em?" Daryl asked, knowing it's what she would do for him.

She began with a shaky breath. "The hospital...they were awful, Daryl. They kept me locked up the whole time, only dragging me out when they wanted to do experiments...they said they were trying to find a cure but they weren't getting anywhere."

Daryl nodded, showing he was listening but not wanting to interrupt.

"That gang I was with...the hospital staff traded me to them for supplies. It was even worse there. They treated all the girls like they were nothing." She leaned into his shoulder, letting out a shaky breath. "Thank you for saving me…I don't know how much longer I could have taken it."

Daryl wrapped his arms around her and lightly kissed her forehead. "You're safe now. I'm never going to let something like that happen again."

This seemed to make Beth relax a little more. "Daryl, what are all the other girls going to do? They're still trapped there."

"They're tough. They'll make it," he reassured her.

"Can we help them?" Beth asked him.

He smiled. "You always want to go helpin' everybody, don't ya?" he chuckled.

Beth smiled back at him. "It's the right thing to do."

"Tell ya what. We stay here for a couple days, recover an' whatnot. Then we'll see what we can do 'bout freeing those girls."

Beth beamed up at him, wrapping him in another hug. "Thank you, Daryl!" He looked up into her sparkling eyes and noticed she was looking at him with an intensity he'd never seen before. If there was one thing he could say about Beth, it would be that she was one of the most passionate people he knew.

Before he could say anything else, the pretty blonde pressed her soft lips to his. He found himself responding instantly. "Sleep with me tonight," she whispered to him. "You make all my nightmares go away."

His response was to wrap his arms tight around her and hold her. "Goodnight, Beth. I'll keep you safe. I promise."

She offered him a sleepy smile. "I'll try to make that an easy promise for you to keep."

With a final chuckle, the pair went to sleep holding each other, back to things has been before Beth had been taken.


	10. Back to the City

_A/N I hope you all enjoy this next chapter! I'll be finishing Look After You within the next couple chapters so I'd like to thank you all for reading, and I'll try my best to finish up the story on a good note…feedback is always appreciated! _

**Beth POV**

As the days passed, Beth found herself becoming close friends with Anna. The two shared many stories – what their lives were like before the world came crashing down, what had happened to them since and of course the horrors of being with the Bandits – and bonded over them.

Anna's stories of the Bandits before Beth had arrived fueled the pretty blonde's desire to free the girls. She couldn't believe the stories of the abuse, the violent beatings that these innocent girls had to endure, with seemingly no hope of ever getting out.

She was overjoyed when Daryl told her the beginnings of the plan. "We might have something worked out," he told her one late afternoon. "But it's nothing concrete, yet. And some people might end up getting hurt."

Beth frowned, but nodded. She had expected something of the sort – the Bandits wouldn't just give up their girls for nothing. "I see. Daryl – what's going to happen to them once they're free?" She had just thought about this – freeing the girls would be one thing, but keeping them all alive was another.

This is when Emily piped up, overhearing their conversation. "There's a safe haven not too far away from here – there's signs posted on the train tracks that are a ways back in the woods. If we can get the girls back here and cleaned up all right we can direct them out that way."

Daryl nodded – he surely hadn't planned on being accountable for a bunch of younger girls – then paused. "Why're ya still here if there's a safe place less n' a week's journey from here?"

Earl responded, "we haven't needed to yet. This spot isn't in any immediate danger, so we consider Terminus – the camp – as a backup plan. We'll leave when we need to, and that's our next spot." Daryl considered, accepting the response. There wasn't any need to move when this place was still secure.

**Daryl POV**

He gave Beth a look and breathed another sigh of relief – she was here with him, and he'd never let anybody take her from him again. He'd kept his promise of getting her back, and he'd keep her safe until his last breath.

"Alright, here's the plan," he began. "We get back to the city, hole up somewhere near enough the warehouse that we can keep an eye on it, but far enough that we can avoid detection. We take a day or two, figure out their patrol patterns, then when they aren't expecting any trouble we take the guards hostage, offer to trade em for the release of all the girls. After that we bust ass out of the city and hope they don't retaliate." It wasn't much of a plan, but given the circumstances it was the best they had.

"Another thing, not everyone should go. Anna, Beth, Emily and the kids should stay here – no sense in putting them in danger if it's not necessary," Earl contributed. Earl's family nodded while Beth sputtered in protest.

"No way! I'm going, I have to!" she exclaimed. "This was my idea in the first place and you're going to need help protecting the girls while you get out of the city."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Earl responded.

Daryl noted the flash of anger that lit Beth's eyes. She scowled, put her hands on her hips and fixed Earl with a firm look. "I'm going."

"Y'can forget 'bout arguin' with her," Daryl told Earl. "The girls made up her mind and ain't nothin' gonna change it." With a sigh and another look at Beth – who still looked slightly insulted at the idea she wouldn't be helping with the rescue – Earl gave in, nodding his consent.

The group of three got ready and took off that night.

Two days passed and the small group found themselves getting ready to free the girls. They'd found places along the Bandits so-called patrol route that they could easily conceal themselves in, waiting to spring into action once the next patrol came by. They usually made rounds about three times a day.

The day before Daryl had snuck up close to the warehouse to do a closer observation, and had found that the gaping hole he and Earl had caused was still there – with a guard full time, to ensure no girls escaped or walkers got in. He would have figured the group would patch that up as soon as possible but assumed that they lacked the supplies to do so.

Daryl and Beth concealed themselves behind a few abandoned cars on the route, while Earl hid himself behind some barriers on the other side of the road. Two sentries went out at a time so the three figured they'd each be able to take one, and have one extra person for backup.

The group didn't have to wait long before the sentries came by. When they were finally in range, Daryl, Beth and Earl leapt out of hiding and smoothly took their hostages, relieving them of all weapons. He was pleased that everything had gone so well, so far. This was only the easy part.

It was a short trek back to the warehouse and they were not very well received by the Bandit acting as guard around there. "We don't want anyone to get hurt," Earl said. "We're prepared to offer a trade for these two – an exchange of hostages, of sorts."

The guard undoubtedly recognized the older man and Daryl as the culprits who had broken out two of their girls. "You're the assholes who blew this place up and took two of our girls! And let how many others get free! We lost those girls because of you!"

Beth, who wasn't holding a hostage, stepped forward. "It's either you let all the girls go for these two, or we kill all of you and get the girls anyway. What's it going to be?" Daryl was slightly shocked – when had Beth begun to use threats in such a casual manner?

After the threats, it was decided the girls would be released. Beth felt triumphant – this would severely cripple the Bandits operations. It happened quickly, with all the girls coming out all at once. The now considerably larger group wasted no time in leaving the city and back to Emily and Earl's cabin.

_A/N This was just a little filler to lead up to the next (possibly final) chapter. Thanks so much for reading!_


	11. Reunited

_A/N : So this is it guys, the final chapter of Look After You. Thank you all for reading and reviewing, it means a lot! Stay tuned for some more fanfic in the future! I love all my readers!_

**Beth POV**

It didn't take long for the large group to reach Emily and Earl's cabin. It did take a while to get settled when they got there, as there were now too many people for the cabin to house comfortably. Daryl and Earl spent the next day setting up a few spare tents that Earl had kept around for the girls to sleep in.

Beth had begun to treat some of the girls minor ailments – a sprained wrist or ankle were the most common of the injuries. They decided to let the girl's rest and recover here for a few days until they were ready to head on to Terminus.

Late one night, just a day or two before the girls were set to head out, Beth noticed Daryl chewing on his lower lip – a habit of his that occurred when something was weighing heavily on his mind. "Somethin' on your mind?" She asked, wrapping her arms around him and looking into his striking eyes.

He bent his head down and gave her a soft kiss before he responded. "I been thinkin' about Terminus. Our people might be there."

Beth smiled. It had been so long since they'd kissed, or touched and she had missed it more than she thought. Before she seemed too out of focus, she collected herself and replied. "Do you really think so?"

He grunted, indicating a yes. "They could'a seen the signs, decided to head that way. They could be there, just a few days away."

Beth's eyebrows furrowed, signaling that she was now in deep thought. "Do you think we should go check it out?"

Again, Daryl nodded. "Th'girls are gonna need someone to get 'em there anyways. Ain't got no protection but us."

Beth agreed. "It's settled then. We'll go on to Terminus with them and check things out." She then fell silent. Sensing that she wanted to add something more to what she had said, Daryl refrained from responding. "But Daryl – what if they're not there?" The hint of worry in her voice was more than apparent.

"Then we move on, keep tryin' to find 'em," he told her. He looked down at the pretty blonde and once again bent down to kiss her soft pink lips. The two settled on the couch they could claim as their own and spent the rest of the night with each other, sneaking in many kisses and sharing a few quiet giggles until they fell asleep in each other's arms.

The next morning was a very hectic one. Emily, Earl, Anna and the kids were rushing around trying to help everyone get ready for their big move. Beth and Daryl spent the morning preparing themselves, collecting all their weapons and the little stash of supplies Daryl had managed to collect.

Eventually, the time to go arrived. Before leaving, Beth said her goodbyes to Anna. "Promise you'll come back if you don't find what you're looking for?" The girl asked Beth, trying to blink away tears that had welled up in her eyes.

"Of course we will," Beth said. "And if you get into any trouble you have to come there at once." Anna nodded in a silent agreement.

The journey took the group close to a week, but it was a quiet one. They did encounter a few walkers but no large groups of them, and they had no run ins with any other groups of survivors. The woods offered a bit of food – just enough to keep the group going to Terminus.

Eventually, the group got to Terminus and were well received by the survivors living there. At first, there was no sign of the rest of Beth and Daryl's group. Beth was disappointed but was expecting this, so they prepared to move on within the next couple days.

**Daryl POV**

Though he was grateful for the temporary sanctuary, Daryl didn't like the people at Terminus. He felt they were shady, had a secret to hide. And he fully intended to find out what this secret was. He began patrolling at night, hoping to find a clue or anything that indicated what the residents were hiding.

Late one night, he found just that.

It started when he was patrolling a supposedly empty area, near a bunch of empty cargo cars that you would see carried on a train. He thought he heard some sort of whispering. He listened further and heard no further sound, but he decided to poke around more anyways. He pressed his ear up to the door leading to another building and the windows, but discovered nothing.

He was about to go back in for the night, but then backtracked and decided to check the train carts. "Is someone here?" he called out in a hushed voice.

Then, someone spoke. "Hello? Who is this?"

"Rick, that you?" Daryl was shocked.

"Daryl? Get us out of here – these people are dangerous." Daryl could now easily detect which cart the noise was coming from, and was quick to release Rick and everyone else who he and Beth had left behind at the prison.

"I gotta get Beth, she's inside," Daryl told them. Maggie instantly lit up.

"She's alive? She's with you!?" Maggie beamed. Daryl nodded and quickly sped off to get his girl.

"Beth, c'mon," he whispered to her. "We gotta go." The sleeping girl didn't respond. Daryl lightly tapped her on the shoulder and she woke with a start.

"Daryl? What's going on?"

"I found the others – they were locked in a train crate. C'mon, it's not safe here." Beth jumped out of bed and immediately followed Daryl.

Once they reached the others, Beth did not hesitate in running into her sisters arms. The two Greene's held each other tightly and wept with relief. Everyone else welcomed Beth back with warm hugs and kind words.

The group then organized themselves and escaped from Terminus out into the night, onto the next place where they would survive.

The End

_A/N So, that's that. I really hope you guys enjoyed it and I really look forward to hearing your thoughts!_


	12. Possible Trilogy

So Look After You wasn't as much of a success as It's Time to Run was, but even so I had a small following. Recently I've been thinking about adding a third part and making a trilogy out of the series. What would you guys think? Let me know!

Carlypotter


End file.
